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FIM World Championship Motocross Series Round 2: EUl"'Ocircuit having a 2000 title robbed due to a late injuries. "It [the domination] was the same last year, and [ultimately]. I was not champion," Pichon said. "The season will be long - I take it race per race this year." 500 STORY AND PHOTOS BY GEOFF MEYER VALKENSVMRD, HOl.l.AND, APRIL I, 2001 ~J or the past few weeks, defending I j SOOcc World Motocross Champion Joel Smets had appeared to be losing his absolute control over a sport he has dominated for the past halfdecade or so. The tall Belgian lost not only the last preseason race in Italy and the opening round of the 2001 series (to Andrea Bartolini and a recovered Stefan Everts, respectively), but also his fight against the controversial recent changes made by Doma and the FIM to the Grand Prix Series, which now favors intense speed over old-school endurance. Frustrated, the Team KTM rider has stated that he might-go to the U.S. in 2002, or perhaps even tum to automobile racing, and his comments have been viewed by some as inflammatory. But in the deep sand of Valkensvaard, Holland, Smets stamped his authority on the World Motocross Championships, new format and aU, then re-emphasized his dissatisfaction with the system. "I'm ready for another moto," Smets said from the top step of the podium following his victory. "I have the energy and I have the time, so what's it to be? Let's try and get the sport back to what it was many years ago. We don't need change; we need real motocross - two 45-minute motos, and on tracks which are technically demanding, natural-terrain tracks." Smets was just as unambiguous on the track, winning the way he has so often done in previous seasons - grabbing the holeshot and leading to the finish for a 32-second win over fourtime World Champion and round-one 18 APRIL " , 2001 • cue •• One ~ ..... a "'appolntlng loa at the . . . -• .IoeI Smets .......--cI with a ~ncl. . IIOOcc win In the Dutch aancI. The vIc:tDIy - a reconl-"'" 38th - dlclllttle to al his dIataste for the changes In the ....... winner Stefan Everts. It was the 36th 500cc career win for Smets, moving him into Ii tie for first with Roger DeCoster. In the 125cc class, Eric Eggens collected his first-ever GP victory in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. The Champ KTM rider was at home in the Dutch sand, enough so that he was able to stay in front of a charging James Dobb, the winner of round one. Another Dutchman, Mark de Reuver, collected his first-ever podium GP fmish in third. Eggens' strong race represented a return to form, as he had beaten Sebastien Tortelli in a moto of the 1996 125cc GP series, but has struggled over the last few years with injuries and team problems. "I've had a tough few years," Eggens said. "With just one heat, it works for me. I've been racing Jamie Dobb for five years now, and I knew he would be tough in the sand. In Spain, my speed was good, but I crashed. That's the problem with the one heat - one week you can win, the next you can score very little points. Today, it played in my favor." Mickael Pichon is now the only GP rider to remain undefeated thus far in 200 I, as he was once again untouchable. This is all the more impressive for the Frenchman considering that Benelux riders won the other two classes on the sandy circuit. Still, Pichon is not overly confident after n • _ s Smets grabbed the lead right off the bat in the 500cc main event, and no one - not even Everts - could match his pace. "I knew Joel would be quick," Everts said. "I tried to keep with him; it was impossible, and I would have killed myself. I want to fight another day, and today was his." Making it two Yamahas on the podium was Belgian Marnicq Bervoets, the rider who has fmished second to Smets and Everts in numerous tile chases. The quiet rider missed a shift on the start straight, then had difficulties moving through the pack on the rough track, and is having to ask himself some tough questions. "My arms are pumping up so bad," Bervoets said. "We hardly practice, and qualification is also short. I don't like the new format, and I cannot stop the arm pump when I'm spending so little time on the bike, then having a race for half an hour. It's not a good system for me." 250 Pichon, once again, did it the hard way in the quarter-liter division, getting off to a slow start and moving into the lead after Ireland's Gordon Crockard made a mistake. Crockard held on to take second place ahead of mister consistent, Josh Coppins. "I was not so nervous this time around," Pichon said. "I took my time; the track was not so rough, and I was able to find some easy lines. The most difficult thing was that I had little time on the bike in practice. We just don't get enough practice with this new system." Crockard had looked brilliant in the early going, taking the lead and even pulling slightly away from Pichon. Unlike in Spain, the fighting Irishman stayed cool and held on for a podium place. "The difference from Spain and Holland was that I kept relaxed," said the Castrol Honda rider. "I felt good up front, did not worry about the others, and my lines were okay. When Pichon came onto me, I made a mistake and he got by. Still, I didn't start to panic. I lost some of my rhythm, and he got away from me." As for Coppins, being the consistent rider in the series is starting to wear thin with the plucky Kiwi. Another average first lap had the Corona Suzuki rider battle with slower riders. "I was really disappointed with Spain," Crockard said. "I'm a little happier here, but stiU I wanted to race with the leaders. That's been my plan for this year. I lost some time on them A year after an Injury cost Mlckael PIchon the 250Cc title. the Frenchman appears Intent on revenge. He won for the second time In a row.